Teri Hansen

Teri A Hansen has served as President and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice since 2002.  In this role, Teri manages the work of Florida’s largest community foundation as it inspires philanthropy and strengthens the region it serves through innovative community initiatives and quality services for donors.

Under Teri’s stewardship, the Foundation recently surpassed $100 million in grants invested in the community.  Teri has also overseen the creation and funding of major leadership initiatives by the Foundation, such as an analysis of Florida’s 9-1-1 system that helped secure passage of a milestone public-safety bill in the 2010 state legislature.

Prior to joining Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Teri was vice president for gift planning and donor relations at The Cleveland Foundation, the oldest and one of the largest community foundations in the United States.  She also worked as vice president of external relations for Central Indiana Community Foundation, and she was the founding president of Legacy Fund of Hamilton County (Indiana).

Teri volunteers her leadership nationally, regionally, and locally.  She is vice chair of the Community Foundations Leadership Team and a member of the Public Policy Committee of the Council on Foundations.  She is past-president of Community Foundations of Florida, a member of the Florida Philanthropic Network, and a board member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation.  Teri also sits on the advisory board to USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Institute for Public Policy and Leadership, and she serves in a number of leadership positions that focus on economic development in Sarasota County.

Teri is a member of the International Women’s Forum Suncoast Chapter and in 2007 received the IWF’s “Women Who Make a Difference Award.”  In 2010, she received the President’s Award of Distinction from State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.

A San Diego native, Teri earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University.  Upon graduating, she served as a public affairs officer in the U.S. Air Force.  Teri also completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.